


second child, restless child

by Leocht (mayibetriumphant)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:07:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27528928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mayibetriumphant/pseuds/Leocht
Summary: “The boy is miserable, Depa. I can’t keep him in the Temple, and I can’t step down to continue his training outside the Temple, either.”“So what? What do you plan to do, send him back to Tatooine of all places?”----Anakin leaves the Temple, but still manages to fulfill his destiny.
Relationships: Depa Billaba & Caleb Dume, Depa Billaba/Obi-Wan Kenobi, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Caleb Dume
Comments: 2
Kudos: 39





	second child, restless child

**Author's Note:**

> Basically:  
> -Obi/Depa left the Order in early 34 BBY, and live on Lothal where they're supposed to be keeping on eye on the Temple there  
> -Caleb was born there, and he's about 3 here  
> -QG still died, and Mace trained Anakin  
> Title is pulled from Second Child, Restless Child by The Oh Hellos (surprise, surprise lol)

“The boy is miserable, Depa. I can’t keep him in the Temple, and I can’t step down to continue his training outside the Temple, either.”

“So what? What do you plan to do, send him back to _Tatooine_ of all places?”

“And risk him being sent back into slavery? Of course not. Besides that, he’s far too young to make it in the galaxy on his own. I was...wondering if you and Kenobi would be willing to care for him for the time being. Let him learn a trade, go to school with children his age…”

Depa sighs. “Does he know what you’re planning, master?”

“Not yet. I wanted to make sure you’d be alright with it before I mentioned anything to him.”

The front door of the farmhouse slides open.

“We’re back!”

“Just a second—Caleb, your grandfather is on the comm, come say hello.” Depa calls over her shoulder.

The older master hears a shriek that would be ear splitting if he were there in person, and an indignant squawk from Kenobi before a small, curly head pokes its way into the bottom of the frame.

He smiles as his former student wrangles her son, pulling his little fingers away from the buttons that would cut off their call. “And how was your day, young man?”

“It was good!” Caleb chirps. “ Hello! Baba, say hello!”

Kenobi’s muffled voice comes from off screen. “Greetings, Master Windu!”

“Obi, Mace needs to speak to us. It’s nothing bad, don’t worry,” she turns to Caleb. “Beta, Amma needs to have a big people conversation. Can you say bye-bye for a minute and go play _gently_ with your blocks?”

He sticks his lip out—exactly like she used to, Mace notices—and crosses his arms. “I wanted to say hello to Mace.”

“And you can later if you do what I’m asking for now. You can tell him all about your day at the market with your Baba when the adult conversation is over.”

“Okay…” the boy climbs dejectedly off his mother’s lap and toddles away.

She rolls her eyes. “You’d think I told him he could never have sweets again for the rest of his life.”

“You did the exact same thing any time I told you no, if you’ll recall.”

“I do not.” Depa replies blithely.

Mace laughs, an increasingly less rare thing. “Of course, you wouldn’t.”

Obi-Wan slides into a chair next to her. “You do that _now_ , Depa. Let’s not pretend. Now, I heard there was an adult conversation to be had?”

“Yes. You remember Anakin, don’t you?”

The younger man leans back in his chair. “What about him?”

“The Temple is...not for him. But the boy needs to be trained. I can’t just turn him loose on Senator Amidala’s family or out on his own. He has almost no friends his own age in the Temple, and lately he’s become...withdrawn.”

“Well, he _is_ thirteen, isn’t he?”

“Yes, but this isn’t age related moodiness. He’s just miserable here, despite my best efforts.”

Obi-Wan gives Depa a side-eye. “And you already spoke with her about this.”

“Briefly, but I know how you feel about him. And we’d have to figure something out for his school fees and such, so I can’t just decide on my own.”

“I can redirect his stipend to you two. It covers his food and clothing in the Temple, so it should help. But all I’m asking right now is that you think on it. Your home would be a far better environment for him mentally than Coruscant right now.”  
Obi-Wan purses his lips. “I mean…” The cost of living out here isn’t horrible, and they’re fairly comfortable with their farm and the extra income Depa brings in with child-minding. There’s not a spare room, but Caleb sleeps through the night and is toilet trained, so it shouldn’t be too much of a bother for Anakin to share a room with him for the time being. “How long do you think he’ll wish to stay here?”  
“Obi,” Depa frowns.  
“No, I only meant—well, obviously this is a commitment. But say that he decides he wants to strike out on his own when he reaches majority for this planet. What then?”  
“Then, technically, there’s not much you could do with him. The Council would need to be informed of his departure, though.”  
“Makes sense. Dee?” Obi-Wan is quite sure he knows what her answer would be, but it’s only polite to ask.  
“Send him our way, master. We’ll keep an eye on him.”

* * *

“Plo, have you seen Anakin anywhere?”

The Kel Dor taps his chin. “I can’t say that I have, no. How long has he been gone?”  
“A few hours. I wasn’t worried until he skipped dinner.”  
Plo nods. That’s reasonable—the boy is a loner, but he never misses meals unless he has nobody to remind him the cafeteria is open. “You might check the creche, if you haven’t already. He’s taken quite a shine to one of the younglings in there.”

It’s more like Ahsoka took a liking to him and wouldn’t let go of his leg for his entire volunteer rotation, and he just had to get used to it, but same difference.

“Good point,” Mace shakes his head. “I’m just glad he’s too large for the vents now.”

The little Togruta is already waiting for him when he arrives. “Master Windu, Anakin is in the _corner_.”  
“Oh, my,” he says seriously. “What did he do to get put there?”  
She shakes her head. “Nothing. He’s just very sad, and I can’t fix it like normal. Can you go?”

“Of course. We don’t like it when our friends are sad, do we, youngling?”  
“No! It makes my head itch when he’s sad.”  
Mace shakes her tiny hand in thanks. He’s pretty sure he can’t pat her head like he would’ve a human child without knocking her off-balance for a while. “Your help is much appreciated, little one. I will go help him for you.”

“Okay, bye!”

Anakin sits in a back corner of one of the playrooms with a blanket and a stuffed Nexu piled on top of his head. “Go away.”  
“Anakin, what in the world are you doing back here? Ahsoka was quite worried about you.”  
“Yeah, well, she’s the only one that’s worried about me,” the boy snaps. “I heard you trying to get rid of me.”

Get rid of him? Oh, right. “That’s not a discussion to be had in front of the little ones, Skywalker. Come back to our quarters, and we’ll talk like adults.”

“So now I’m an adult?”

“Well, you chose to eavesdrop on an adult conversation and draw your own—incorrect—conclusions about my intentions, didn’t you?”

A blue eye glares at him balefully from underneath the blanket.

“Come on. Give Tano her blanket and toy back and follow me.”  
To his credit, the boy even folds it all up, and carefully poses her toy on her bunk bed as he trudges out behind Mace.

He sits with his arms crossed petulantly in their living area when they arrive, refusing to look at his master.

Mace sighs. “How much did you hear?”  
“You said I don’t belong in the Temple! And…and you’re trying to get rid of me! I knew you didn’t want to deal with me when Master Jinn died and Obi-Wan left. The Chancellor said it was obvious, but I guess I just didn’t want to see it.”

“Why is the Chancellor telling you those things?” Honestly, he’s aghast. He really does need to get Anakin away from Coruscant.  
“Because we’re friends, and he’s grateful to me for saving Naboo.” Anakin mutters.

The Jedi Master has to resist the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. For right now, a pin is going into that problem in particular. “Anakin, do you actually _like_ being in the Temple?”

“I…”

“Answer me honestly, Anakin. If you had anywhere else to go—safely—would you prefer to stay here?”  
Anakin stares even more intently at the floor. No. No, he wouldn’t want to stay here. It’s cold, the food is weird, and the other children mostly don’t like him. When they stopped making fun of him for not being able to read well, they moved on to him being a slave. It feels like they’ll always find something else. But as gruff as Master Windu could be sometimes, he was always nice to him, and he never treated him like he was stupid for struggling with things that probably came easy to normal Jedi. “I…no. I-I’m sorry, I don’t think so. I don’t like it here at all. The Chancellor offered me a job with him, a while ago and I almost took it, but I didn’t want to hurt your feelings…”

He’s glad he’s just slightly too dark to blush. This is awful. He can feel Mace lean forward in his chair and prepares himself for a shouting match. He’s never gotten yelled at by him before, not in all three years that he’s been living with him, but this probably warrants it.  
“What you overheard was me speaking with Obi-Wan and my old Padawan—the one I had before you—about you going to live with them. They separated from the Order officially a little while after the Battle of Naboo, if you recall.”

Anakin nods. “Mhm.”

“They have a small farm on Lothal, and a little boy together. They would also be willing to take you in.”  
The boy finally looks up. “Huh?”  
“Your training as a Jedi would be able to continue, but in an environment that is more…familiar to you as a late arrival to our Order. There is a school nearby, and Obi-Wan would teach you to work with their animals, so that you could have a way to support yourself should you choose to fully depart from us one day.”

“You really mean it, Master Windu? I-I can go there, and…?”  
“It’s up to you, padawan. I would trust either of them with my life.”  
The boy mulls it over for a second. Lothal isn’t far from Tatooine either, so maybe he could visit his mom? But… “Would I be able to come back for a visit?”

Mace smiles. “It’s more likely that I would come to you. Depa is practically my child, after all.”

Anakin jumps up and throws his arms around Mace’s neck. “Thank you! When can I go?”  
Mace pats his back. “I’ll let them know your answer and take care of the paperwork. So, two weeks?”

Anakin’s happiness leaks out into everything around them. It almost makes _him_ want to jump up and down.

“I can handle that. Thank you so much!”

“You still have to finish your class work for this week.” Mace warns.

Anakin bounces on the balls of his feet. Not even his backlog of astrophysics and history work can bring him down now. “Yes, master—” his stomach growls embarrassingly loud.

“But I suppose first we should get something to eat.”


End file.
